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Cherry Hill Police take part in distracted-driving enforcement campaign

Law enforcement officers from the Cherry Hill Police Department will be cracking down on distracted drivers as part of a new national Distracted Driving Enforcement campaign.

From April 1st through the 21st, this high-visibility law enforcement initiative will target motorists who engage in dangerous distracted driving behaviors such as talking or texting on hand-held cell phones while driving. The slogan for this national campaign is "UDrive. UText. UPay."

“Distracted driving is a serious issue on our roadways,” says Gary Poedubicky, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that each year thousands of people are killed in distracted driving related crashes and nearly half a million people are injured.”

Despite the fact that using a handheld cell phone or texting while driving is illegal in New Jersey, the practice appears to be widespread. In a 2013 survey conducted by the FDU PublicMind Poll for the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, 72% of respondents said they “very often” see people driving and talking on a handheld cell phone. 40% of respondents said they “very often” see drivers texting.

This campaign is being carried out during the month of April which is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and is modeled after similar successful high-visibility enforcement campaigns such as "Click It or Ticket" and "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over."

The Cherry Hill Police Department has planned to conduct ongoing Distracted Driving Enforcement details throughout the township during this campaign. Patrol units along with officers in unmarked police vehicles will be on the lookout for drivers violating New Jersey's cell phone law.